Red Wings Trade Ville Leino for… Nothing?

The Detroit Red Wings traded forward Ville Leino to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday for defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and a fifth round draft pick in the 2011 draft.

Detroit then immediately placed Tollefsen on waivers.

Leino, 26, had disappointed the Red Wings this year by only scoring seven points and earning a -10 rating in 42 games. This move was simply a player dump to make room for some of the returning veterans that Detroit has had on the injured reserve, including Johan Franzen. In 55 games over two seasons with Detroit, Leino scored nine goals and seven assists.

Detroit enters Saturday in ninth place in the Western Conference, and has been bouncing back and forth with Calgary for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Red Wings haven’t been healthy all year, though, and should be near 100 percent after the Olympic break.

For Philadelphia, they receive an underachieving forward in exchange for Tollefsen, 25, who has missed a total of 30 games because of concussion and MCL injuries. Tollefsen signed with Philadelphia in July after spending three seasons in Columbus. If he clears waivers, he’ll be assigned to Grand Rapids.